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We test 80 new laptops in our specialist lab every year, not just the most-hyped models. We also buy every laptop we test. We're completely independent and can tell you exactly what we find, since we don't take freebies.
Unlike almost all free laptop reviews you see on other websites, we don't rely on borrowing samples from manufacturers or their PR representatives. This means we can test the laptop spec model most consumers would buy, including the base spec, rather than a souped-up PR model that's designed to impress us.
Each model is put through our rigorous, independent lab tests and assessments – every model is treated equally, no matter how popular it is. If we recommend a model, you can be confident it's worth buying. It also means we can unearth the hidden gems and bargain buys that don't make the headlines. Plus, we don't hold back if we find a laptop that isn't very good – we have the overwhelming evidence to prove it.
Each Which? laptop review is based on the tests conducted by a team of five professional testers, leaving no room for unconscious bias. Reviews you read elsewhere might be based on one person's preferences or initial impressions.
The Which? overall test percentage score is calculated purely on the measurements and ratings supplied by the lab. This also means all our reviews are directly comparable: we use a 100-point scale for our laptop scores so you can compare any of the 200 or so reviewed laptops available to buy against each other. This makes it easy for you to be confident you're buying the right model for your budget and needs.
Nobody goes to the lengths we do to find the best laptops.
We’re not influenced by third parties, and we don't accept freebies from product manufacturers or retailers. As a not-for-profit organisation, we have no owners, shareholders or government departments to answer to, so we work entirely on behalf of you, the consumer – nobody else.
Read our full statement of editorial independence.
This is the most important aspect of a laptop, according to our UK consumer surveys. No one wants theirs to be sluggish and hold them back. It's why performance has such a large bearing on our overall scores – alongside ease of use, since a frustrating-to-use laptop isn't a quick laptop.
In addition to our five lab technicians testing the laptops themselves, we use a wide suite of industry-standard technical benchmarking software that puts each laptop through its paces and shows which ones simply aren't up to the task.
Our benchmarks are special because we don't use simulations. We use real consumer software to most accurately mirror how a typical person would use the laptop, whether that's Office-style software, web browsing, on-laptop AI tasks, photo editing or even demanding video editing.
Our laptop tests include comparable scores for Office software speed, web browsing, photo editing and even demanding video editing.
This is the most numbers-heavy part of our testing, and each laptop undergoes the same set of benchmarks, so we can compare speeds directly against each other.
These benchmarks provide a score on a large range of tasks, including opening programs, browsing the web, editing photos and video, and editing documents and spreadsheets.
The lab also performs four separate tests to check the speed of the built-in wi-fi hardware, and conducts two USB speed tests, as well as operating system startup time.
One area we don't cover is gaming performance. Our laptop reviews focus on general consumer performance, and a fast laptop will likely run 3D games pretty well. But, for example, we don't reward or punish laptops depending on whether they have a dedicated graphics card for top-tier graphics rendering.
Our benchmarks are deliberately demanding. This lets us catch underpowered laptops and reward those with plenty of grunt that won't slow you down, even under sustained heavy workloads.
A poor laptop may not be able to run some of our benchmark software at all, such as photo and video editing; this automatically gives it one star out of five in these areas. These low ratings make it clear that if you're looking for a laptop for photo or video editing, these aren't the right models to buy.
A good laptop will sail through the tests, showing that no matter what you throw at it, you're unlikely to see much slowdown.
Laptop battery life varies wildly, and our tests also show it can diverge dramatically from manufacturer claims. The only way to know how long your battery life will truly last is to test it in real-world conditions, so that's exactly what we do.
We run at least three complete battery cycle tests on each laptop. This includes continuously browsing the web while connected to the internet over a wi-fi connection until the battery runs out, and also playing a video streamed via YouTube until the battery runs flat. These are an all-round laptop workout. The web browsing test simulates productive laptop use, and the video streaming test simulates entertainment use.
For the web browsing test, we run it at least twice to ensure consistency, and a third time if the first and second tests vary by more than 10%.
Every laptop that we test in our lab is subjected to multiple real-world battery tests, from browsing the web to playing video.
For a laptop to be truly portable, it also needs convenient dimensions and shouldn't be too heavy. Our lab takes accurate measurements of all aspects of the laptop: we ignore manufacturer claims, since reality can vary even for the most well-known laptop brands. We measure both the laptop and its charger on highly accurate scales, and use similarly accurate measurements to check the laptop’s dimensions and how far the screen tilts when it’s fully opened.
For example, one time-honoured standard for portable laptops is models that are known as 'ultrabooks'. In addition to portable dimensions, this requires a laptop to weigh under 1.5kg. It'll surprise no one that we often find laptops that claim to be narrowly under 1.5kg are actually heavier. This matters, as a laptop weighing more than 1.5kg is pretty hefty to carry around.
The days of battery life well under 10 hours should be long gone: some laptops we test now reach around 24 hours. But even some costing around £1,000 can have woeful battery life in our tests; this could come as a nasty shock, but that's where our reviews can help.
This is an area of laptop testing often overlooked with brands' focus on laptop features and specs, but if a laptop is a pain to use, then it doesn't matter how fast or how many features it might have. This is why ease of use has a very sizeable bearing on our overall laptop scores.
It's also the portion of our lab test where our lab technicians' decades of laptop testing experience really comes into its own. They can tell a responsive and comfortable touchpad and keyboard from a mile away, as you would if you were testing 80 laptops every single year.
This is an invaluable part of our assessments, particularly if you're buying online, as it's very difficult to judge the quality of a keyboard and touchpad without trying it out in person. And if you do go into a store, you're restricted to a much smaller range of models that will substantially narrow your options.
Our experts are also dab hands at catching those annoying or unusual behaviours that you might only discover on your laptop once the returns window has closed: frustrations that could slow you down in your everyday work.
Our lab professionals check the ports and connectors to see if they’re well labelled and easy to plug into, and to assess comfort when using the laptop on a desk and on a lap. Here, we also look at how loud the cooling fans get when working on strenuous tasks.
They also meticulously document all the useful specifications and ports. This includes the amount of storage space, amount of Ram (short-term memory) and the number of processor cores. We also look at the number of USB, HDMI and ethernet sockets, so you can easily compare which laptops offer the exact feature set you're after.
There's nothing quite like trying to use a touchpad that won't reliably input your commands: it's an utterly frustrating experience. Pair that with a keyboard with wobbly keys that are slow to spring back, and you're in for a miserable experience you will have to face every time you use your laptop.
A superb laptop shouldn't get in your way. In fact, it should be so responsive that you'll get tasks done in no time, with a silky-smooth touchpad and keys that give your typing a wonderful flow.
A dull screen can cause eye strain over long periods, and be particularly problematic in bright sunlight – particularly if it doesn't handle reflections well.
Our lab technicians use a calibrated screen-analysis device called a colorimeter to measure screen performance. This device measures the screen’s ability to display accurate colours, along with contrast, brightness and darkness.
Our lab experts back up these measurements with their eyes. They evaluate how clear the screen is, how easy text is to read, how severe reflections are and whether the screen becomes impossible to read when viewed at an off-centre angle.
These quantitative and qualitative tests combine to form the screen’s overall score.
Good laptop sound quality is also handy, if not essential (you can always use headphones or desk speakers, after all). That's especially true for video calls, where voices need to be clear, and you don't want to turn the volume up more than is comfortable for your ears.
We play various types of audio on each model, including pure speech, music, and a movie with sound effects, dialogue and music, to assess audio quality. The lab rates each performance out of five.
The lab also checks how well the laptop’s sound comes through the headphone jack to a pair of studio-grade headphones, as the quality of sound output via the headphone jack can vary substantially between models.
This is often what separates premium laptops from merely good ones. Stunning screens really do make all the difference, with vibrant colours that pop and make the most of the content. Plus, it's handy to have great sound without needing to use headphones.
Tinny speakers are widespread on laptops: they make voices sound nasal and robotic, and high frequencies so screechy you can't listen for long. Poor-quality screens are even worse. Some are practically unreadable in direct sunlight, and it's even worse if they're bad at handling reflections – there's no point in a laptop being portable if you can't keep using it on the move.
Browse all our laptop reviews to find your perfect model.
Ruby Gordon, Which? senior scientific advisor, says:
'Our scores are based on what matters most to consumers: we routinely survey thousands of UK consumers, as well as Which? members, on what is most important to them when buying a laptop. We don't just decide ourselves. Our lab experts provide measurements and ratings, and our consumer research informs how influential each part of this assessment is on our overall Which? score in our laptop reviews.
'This is why how powerful a laptop is has a high weighting in our overall product score, as this is what people told us matters the most. You can also see the lab ratings directly, from display colours to keyboard quality, through the star ratings in our laptop reviews.
'The Which? overall score is a percentage. It takes into account the results of our tests and ignores price completely. This means all laptops are tested on the same scale, so you can compare any laptop at any price and see how it measures up against its rivals in key areas. We test all laptops the same way. When a manufacturer makes a claim, we don't take their word for it; we test it ourselves.
'A Which? overall score is made up of dozens of individual tests and checks, from key factors such as ease of use, battery life and performance to sound quality and portability. Behind each rating could be more than 20 individual tests and checks. This means that the more important things – such as how good a laptop’s touchpad is – will impact a laptop’s overall score more than whether the webcam has a privacy cover.
'Small (14.9 inches and under) and large (15 inches or more) laptops are tested in the same way, but their scores are calculated slightly differently to keep things fair. For example, you can’t expect a large laptop to be light, so we minimise the impact on its overall score to avoid unduly punishing laptops that will naturally be heavier.
'Similarly, we calculate Chromebooks slightly differently as they're not used in quite the same way as Macs and Windows laptops. For example, Chromebook users are unlikely to be photo or video-editing professionals.'
Here are the weightings for each element of our test:
Small laptops:
Large laptops:
Chromebooks:
(Percentages rounded to the nearest 1%)
To maintain our lab-tested laptop reviews as 100% independent, we never accept free product samples from manufacturers or brands. This means they have no sway over the laptop specifications we select and cannot withdraw samples as punishment for a negative review. Instead, we invest more than £60,000 every year buying laptops from major retailers.
We test around 80 new laptops a year, covering all the major brands and operating systems from Windows and Mac to Googlebook and Chromebook. We also test laptops every month of the year, so while our rigorous reviews take time, we deliver them as quickly as possible.
We don't focus exclusively on the latest and greatest expensive, flashy models. We aim to cater to all budgets, from less than £300 to £1,000 and more. For the very best, look out for our Best Buy models. If you want to spend less, our Great Value models punch well above their price.
Finn Rainbird, Which? market analyst, says:
'For extensive laptop market coverage, I choose laptops from all the major brands including Acer, Apple, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung and more, with a particular focus on widely available models you can easily buy from major retailers such as Amazon, AO, Currys, John Lewis and Very.
'Manufacturers will often heavily market the flagship models they'd love publications to focus on, but my job is to impartially consider brands' entire range. I track UK new launches in my dedicated spreadsheet and monitor emerging market trends, consumer search habits and sales data. This ensures we test the laptops that will match consumer needs, no matter their budget.'
Our recommendations will help you quickly narrow down your shortlist. Still, it's worth checking our expert laptop reviews to make sure a model fits your specific needs.
82% or more
We give Best Buys to laptops that impress most in our tests. A laptop that scores 82% or more is a Best Buy and comes with our firm overall recommendation.
Best Buy laptops typically tick the most important boxes – fast operation, long-lasting battery life, an impressively sharp and clear display and a device that's comfortable and easy to use.
We change the minimum score required for a laptop to be a Best Buy from time to time to ensure only the very best laptops on the market achieve this endorsement. The last time we changed this cut-off was in January 2026 when the minimum Best Buy score was raised from 79% to 82%.
A laptop also cannot be a Best Buy or Great Value model if the brand scores just one star out of five on reliability in our annual laptop owner survey – if this happens, we would retain the laptops' scores, but not give our Best Buy or Great Value recommendation.
Read our laptop reviews and use the Best Buy filter to find out which models impressed us in our tests.
Windows and Macs: 60% or more
Chromebooks: 65% or more
All Great Value laptops cost at least 20% below the average laptop price.
To earn our Great Value badge, a laptop must also:
The test score requirement is higher for Chromebooks, since they can score well more easily because their ChromeOS operating system has lower resource requirements.
Laptops that are considered 'entry level' – which means when we bought them for testing they cost less than £400 – can still be Great Value if they don't meet the criteria for keyboard, touchpad and screen colour performance. But they must meet all the other criteria outlined.
If you want to save money, head to our laptop reviews and use the Great Value filter.
45% or below
Any laptop that scores 45% or less is a Don’t Buy.
Don't Buy laptops fall down in important areas – they can be painfully slow even if you're doing basic things, won't last long without needing a recharge and can be awkward and frustrating to operate. Avoid them.
Find out more about the Don't Buy laptops you should avoid.
Running our test projects is a group effort, with several people in Which? research teams delivering our laptop tests, as well, of course, as our expert lab technicians.
We continually ensure our laptop tests remain cutting-edge: we extensively review our testing processes every single year to make sure it always remains useful to you, and regularly ask the Which? community and wider UK population to tell us what now matters the most when choosing a new laptop.
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